Abstract Title

Author Information

Faculty Mentor Name

John Pavlina and Peter Merkle

Format Preference

Poster

Abstract

As man ventures farther and farther away from earth, we must become more flexible in the art of survival. One technology which holds vast potential to aid in space exploration is hydroponics. Hydroponics is the process of growing plants by adding nutrients to water, instead of using soil. All of hydroponics’ many advantages culminate to grow plants that will: feed astronauts, aid in the process of producing oxygen, cleaning water, and raising morale. NASA has already started to utilize this technology, and is growing plants and vegetables on the international space station. This project will research the ability to modularize and minimize the size of a hydroponic setup, allowing for ease of expansion, and a decrease in volume. The decrease in volume and weight would decrease cost of transportation and storage, allowing deep space exploration to occur. Efforts will be focused on utilizing technologies such as 3D printing and microcontrollers, to manufacture lightweight custom parts, and introduce automation/computer operations, to increase efficiency.

Poster Presentation

IGNITE GRANT AWARD

Location

AC1-ATRIUM

Start Date

4-8-2016 1:00 PM

End Date

4-8-2016 3:00 PM

Share

COinS

Apr 8th, 1:00 PMApr 8th, 3:00 PM

Development of Micro-Hydroponic Systems for Space Travel

AC1-ATRIUM

As man ventures farther and farther away from earth, we must become more flexible in the art of survival. One technology which holds vast potential to aid in space exploration is hydroponics. Hydroponics is the process of growing plants by adding nutrients to water, instead of using soil. All of hydroponics’ many advantages culminate to grow plants that will: feed astronauts, aid in the process of producing oxygen, cleaning water, and raising morale. NASA has already started to utilize this technology, and is growing plants and vegetables on the international space station. This project will research the ability to modularize and minimize the size of a hydroponic setup, allowing for ease of expansion, and a decrease in volume. The decrease in volume and weight would decrease cost of transportation and storage, allowing deep space exploration to occur. Efforts will be focused on utilizing technologies such as 3D printing and microcontrollers, to manufacture lightweight custom parts, and introduce automation/computer operations, to increase efficiency.